President Obama appears to be refreshingly pro-science in his outlook, publicly lauding objectivity and careful analysis. He has even been credited with saying that “we need evidence-based legislation” in regards to public policy. The New York Times reports:

Agencies will be expected to pick science advisers based on expertise, not political ideology, the memorandum said, and will offer whistle-blower protections to employees who expose the misuse or suppression of scientific information.

The idea, the president said in remarks before an audience of lawmakers, scientists, patients advocates and patients in the East Room, is to ensure that “we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology”: a line that drew more applause than any other.

But when it comes to healthcare reform, many policy decisions put us in uncharted territory, with intelligent arguments on both sides of many legislative options and no American historical frame of reference to help us determine the best course of action. In times like these, perhaps the best we can do (to promote “evidence-based legislation”) is to study similar policy decisions made by our Canadian and European counterparts.